Sony SCD-XA5400ES output: hdmi or analog?

I've decided to replace my aging wadia 850 by a sony 5400es. As the wadia could be directly connected to an amplifier, in my case a ML336, i didn't use a pre-amplifier. Has anybody had any listening experience comparing the analog output of the Sony to a high quality line stage vs. it's HDMI-output to an A/V processor?